Sandy Graham: 2025 has been a year of political chaos and so much uncertainty but the one thing that always stays the same is the music. We can take ourselves back in time with the legendary hits that shaped our lives and also find new favourites that end up on repeat. I am also so impressed by all the new music that indie artists are releasing now. It gives me so much hope that the future of music is in safe hands with the younger new artists that are making huge leaps in creating great songs and great lyrics.
I get so many thank yous for the work Cashbox Canada does, but the truth is it is Team Cashbox that is responsible for keeping us out there every week.
Chris, I thank you for always being there for the background of running the magazine and for putting up with me right from the start 17 years ago. Jain, you have brought back the magic of being on the cover of a music magazine, you read my mind when I send you ‘stickmen’ and you turn it into a work of art. Tracey, you are our newest addition to the Team, and last year you added a vital part by capturing live shots of concerts, both of legendary artists and indie artists around TO and beyond. Don, your personal interviews bring out the best and I am sure that is based on your continued work of releasing your own music and performing for so many years yourself. The feedback is always that the artists say they felt like they are talking to an old friend, asking questions no one else does. Michael, your passion for music and that virtual library in your head always makes your stories unique and your details make them a great read. Lisa, being an active singer/songwriter and performer yourself, your research and work with the legendary artist stories show your passion for their music.
Malin and Jonas, our Swedish partners and friends, thank you for the great stories you write about the incredible artists from Sweden. We love the bond between our two countries and look forward to many years of building musical bridges with you and Lila By Festivalen.
I also really want to thank the PR people behind the scenes who are the ones who get those stories to us. Eric Alper, you are truly the best! Big shoutout to Jane Harbury, Gerry Young, Cam Carpenter, Beverly Kreller, LW Communications and Victoria Lord. I can always count on great artists from you all.
Last but not least, thank you to the readers who have supported us all these years. You make it all worthwhile.
Chris Wardman: Enjoying the post-Toronto afterlife here on Denman Island; doing live sound for most of the local events, including the many Concerts Denman shows, creating and recording music with friends, helping out artists, publishing a local paper (The Barnacle), and hanging out by the water. It's been a fun adventure helping Sandy keep this going all these years, occasionally publishing posts about my friends, and helping to keep some semblance of an indie industry going in the midst of corporate dystopia. What cool new music will 2026 bring? Happy happy to all.
Jain McMillan: It has been a very busy year creatively for me. Just the way I like it! First and foremost, I am the art director for Live is All You Need Inc. A musical show promotion company where I design and perform multimedia shows that go on behind live music. Our flagship show is called ONES The Beatles #1 Hits, now entering its 10th year! ONES tours Canada and the US and we have recently secured an 8-show run at the Princess of Wales Theatre with Mirvish Productions. We also have a Rush show, entitled Radio Rush: the Moving Pictures Story and a holiday themed show called the Jersey Nights Before Christmas. My next passion is designing the covers for Cashbox Canada magazine every week. I am fortunate to be able to create cover art for not only legendary members of the global music community, but also talented up-and-coming artists that deserve promotion and recognition. I also fit in other freelance design work when time permits. At this time of year, I want to wish everyone a very happy holidays and my wish is that 2026 brings health, prosperity and lots of music for all!
Don Graham: When I was a young guy working at International Music store, every week we got a copy of Cashbox Magazine. I would spend my lunchtime reading it cover to cover. Then when I put my first record out, I actually got a Pick Hit in Cashbox back in the day so It has been a full circle moment. And now all these years later, I get to contribute to Cashbox Canada magazine as a journalist. I never thought of myself as a journalist, but I do know music and I’ve gotten to meet and interview great artists through this opportunity. It’s an honour and a pleasure to write for Cashbox Canada. I thank you for all your support and for reading what we do.
Lisa Hartt: Being part of the Cashbox community this past year has been a deeply meaningful experience for me, both as a journalist and a lifelong fan of Canadian music, and I am grateful to be a part of Cashbox Canada Magazine. I am sincerely thankful to Sandy Graham and the entire Cashbox team for the trust and opportunities they’ve extended. It has been an honour to review You Get Bigger as You Go by M.D. Dunne, exploring the life and music of Bruce Cockburn, and to conduct interviews for the Legends Class Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrating Gino Vannelli, Ian Thomas, and Jane Siberry—three truly iconic Canadian singer-songwriters. To also have my own music and releases written about and recognized by Cashbox has been incredibly humbling. Altogether, it has been an overwhelmingly wonderful year.
Tracey Savein: As we all mark off the last couple of weeks in our respective calendars, it’s safe to say that 2025 has been a stellar year in music and entertainment. The auspicious opportunities I’ve had to photograph such a variety of truly remarkable shows has been my joy and a privilege to capture. With that, a big heartfelt thank you to Sandy Graham for inviting me into the Cashbox Canada home, where my images have been offered a warm place to stay in “Picture This”, where the guiding night light is creativity and dedication is the key ingredient for everyone here in this hard-working kitchen. To all of the exceptional artists and the folks who champion them and give them a place to land, thank you for keeping us energized, engaged and for soothing our souls. As we look forward to more spectacular things to come in the year ahead, wishing all of you out there a warm and wonderful holiday season. Take care, see you out there and all the best to you and yours.
Michael Williams: I am grateful and thankful for another holiday season. The year has been great I got to live in the Beaches with an amazingly wonderful family. Went to Calgary to host a Stampede Jamboree Celebration and had best 48 hours of my life with great bands who are now all friends. My new friends are: Morgan Klaiber, Dallas Alexander, Drew Gregory, Brad Wisham, Jess Moskaluke. All great artists, thank you to Craig Senyk and Kim Wright for inviting me, truly friends to music and musicians! In Peterborough a Reggae Party with the Sattalites food by international superstar Chef Greg Couillard, Sara and Adam. At the Chemong Lodge on Chemong Lake in the Kawarthas, now a yearly event. See you next year in September! Sang with the Spoons hosted Garland Jeffreys, Ellen McIlwaine, Jay Douglas and a few more film launches. I am in all of the films…honoured! So, it has been a great year…now to start having fun going on tour next year with friends with a new close up and personal experience hopefully across Canada with friends and guests. Thank you Brandon Boyd of Incubus. Could not have it without you! Adrianna, Kandiss, Sandra, mom, the family and friends.
A lifetime of thanks to Sandy Graham/Cashbox Canada/Record World International/EMG Collectives. You got me writing again in now I am working on the book.
Jonas Tancred: Between creating music, building projects from the ground up and navigating a world that feels increasingly uncertain, there have been moments of doubt as well as deep meaning. Being part of Cashbox has been a reminder that independent music is held together by people who care, who stay curious and who keep showing up. I’m grateful to be part of a community that still believes in voices, stories and connection even as the industry keeps shifting beneath our feet.
Malin Osth: Reflections on 2025 for Cashbox Canada, 2025 was a year filled with music that really cut through the noise. At Lilla By Festivalen, I found myself, once again, surrounded by those raw voices and honest expressions that remind me why I do this. Every year a few artists leave a deeper mark, and getting the chance to lift them up through Cashbox Canada has felt both natural and necessary.
As a lifelong musician, I listen differently. I don’t just hear a melody, I hear the intention behind it, the fight, the fragility, the pulse. That’s what I try to translate when I write: the real stuff, the things that don’t need polish to matter.
Cashbox Canada has become an important space for independent artists, a place where music doesn’t have to fit into a mold to be worthy of attention. Being part of that, of a platform that chooses authenticity over algorithms, means a lot to me. It feels like we’re all pulling in the same direction, giving room to voices that deserve to be heard.
Sharing the stories of the artists who moved me most this year has been a privilege. And as 2026 approaches, I’m excited in that familiar indie way: curious, wide open, and ready to see which new voices find their way to us and which ones stay with me long after the last chord fades.
Patricia Silver: This has been a banner year for SING! The Toronto International Vocal Arts Festival. We produced our first SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships, which led to many opportunities for category winners - and the commitment to grow that program in 2026. Programs like SING! With Pride on the launch day of Toronto Pride, free multi-cultural concerts, and the Great North Battle beatbox weekend celebrated communities. Festivals and Events Ontario recognized SING! Toronto for the 11th straight year with a top award, as well as inducing SING! Co-Manager Patricia Silver in their prestigious Hall of Fame. The support of the a cappella community from Cashbox has been so important in advancing the careers of emerging Canadian artists and bringing in audiences for all of our artists.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joyeux Noel from all of us. I hope 2026 will bring more great music for us all!
